To Love Or Not To Live
by Zonex Krypton
Summary: After a year of action and adventure, the trained assassin has a lot of time on his hands. And the idle are the most dangerous ones among us all. Train now has nothing to do to occupy himself, breaking the barrier which had stood between him and his mourning for Saya's death. Life isn't fair so Train figures no one will mind death if it brings back happiness into his life.
1. Prologue

I wrote this story after a friend of mine requested it. ^^ 14AmyChan, I hope you like it although I must say, its nowhere near a fluffy one. My apologies~

* * *

**And They Shall Die**

"_Are you sure you want to do this, child?" Her whispery voice carried over the wailing wind outside her cave. He glared silently at the black orb placed on the table through which he had just viewed the shadow world. His mind was made up- he would go to the ends of the Earth for her. He'd do anything for her._

_Anything to bring her back to his side- where she truly belonged. So what if it meant sacrificing his closest friends? What were they when compared to her presence? Nothing! Mere toys to be played with and pawns in a ruthless game- saved till they outlived their usefulness. After all, the world was a cruel place to live._

_He finally shifted is gaze to meet her luminous turquoise orbs, his answer not needing any sort of motion or communication to be understood._

_She sighed and closed her eyes, her actions closely resembling resignation. "You will need the blood of two and the rising shall take place during the full moon. Make sure they… are ready by then." He simply shrugged and nodded, his steely eyes revealing nothing but his rigid desire._

_He would not fail his mission. No matter what the cost- she would breathe for him again.__He would make sure of that even if it required someone else to stop breathing. What was it they said- a life for a life?_

_He glanced outside into the starry night- watching the first streak of light spreading across the sky rapidly, diminishing the glow of the twinkling lights. His eyes dulled as he thought of the blood sacrifice which was to come eventually and imminently, a mask of steely indifference glued onto his face._

_Yeah, well, they were right._


	2. Conflicting Convention

"Watch out Sven!" The blond girl's voice carried over the screams of the passersby and the addressed man twisted around just in time to have the rock crash into his face. His moan of pain was barely audible over the din in the street but Eve heard it nonetheless. Her violet eyes glowed with apprehension and she made to move towards him, only to be forced onto her knees by the gang of mutant mercenaries they were facing. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Sven crumpled to the ground into an un-moving heap.

Her eyes widened and she let out a feral growl, guttural and fierce as she mourned her companion's pain. The sneering men were moving towards her as well when a bullet from behind them forced them to scatter. The sun cast unnatural glints on everything, the bright rays of light forcing her to squint when she wanted nothing more than to open her eyes against their will.

_Sven?_Eve opened her eyes slightly to see a dark figure advancing towards his unconscious figure. _NO!_A voice screamed inside her, rising from her chest and to her mind as she stared at the scene unfold in front of inside her, something inside her snapped and despite her many injuries, Eve found herself hurtling towards her guardian.

She felt her hair change into deadly blades and she swooped to decapitate the man beside Sven when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring at the man kneeling beside Sven. The brunet smirked at her as he pointed his gun at her, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Train? Is that really you?" she whispered, hardly daring to meet his eyes as he pulled Sven to his feet. She refused to believe he was there, against all proof of his standing before her. She could see him with her very eyes but was he really there? So many people had pretended to be the Black Cat that after searching for him for six tedious months, they had given up. The number thirteen in roman numerals was etched upon the gun from which golden tassels hung.

She repeated his name when he didn't answer, blinking in shock. What was he doing here, after so much time? Nearly a year, okay, eleven months and twenty days, counting but hey, who was keeping count? She knew she wasn't.

She scowled at him, her eyes narrowing. After all this time, he wasn't even going to grace her with an answer?

"You listen here, you dumb idi-" but she never got to complete her sentence, Train gazing down at her with glowing golden orbs. Sven interrupted her tirade by suddenly coughing and muttering a weak 'Eve' to which she instantly replied, squatting down next to him so she could caress his wounded face gently.

"I'm here Sven," she replied softly, using the flat of her thumb to smooth out the creases in his forehead. The injured man groaned and shifted uncomfortably, blinking his one good eye to take in his surroundings. Eve just hoped he didn't have a concussion as an after affect of that wicked blow to his head. "Did we win?" Sven groaned weakly, his arm reaching out to cautiously touch the side of his head to wince when his fingers came away with blood on the tips.

He waved Eve away when she offered him a hand to get up and used the ground to propel himself up to his feet, his hand clawing out to find something to steady his ascent.

His hand caught the brunet's jacket and Eve watched as Sven thanked Train softly before turning to Eve- checking her up to make sure there were no fatalities whatsoever before the tall dark man's image registered in his sluggish mind. He spun around, wobbling on his feet as he jabbed the now grinning brunet with his good hand.

"TRAIN FUCKING HEARTNET! What the hell are you doing here?" he bellowed, wisps of his green hair falling into his eyes as he made a futile attempt to brush them away. Eve listened with interest as Sven continued to describe Train with the most colorful profanities she had ever heard. Train simply shrugged and smiled at Sven quietly, his golden orbs listless and empty. Suddenly, Eve was frightened of this trained ex-assassin.

His bland expression haunted her thoughts long after his explanation of 'I was around'. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was going to go down and that Train was in the middle of all the action.

A few hours later, Train was eating with much of his usual gusto and Sven was laughing heartily. She didn't want to say anything to Sven but she just couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance inside her.

_He never laughed like this during the past year at all. Isn't my company enough or does he seek a 'man' to talk to?_Eve seethed inside, watching the two older men trade insults and stories of their travels. Not once did either look her way until she let her breath out in an irritated huff, grabbing her jacket from the far corner of the room with her hair and stomped outside into the open air.

The cool breeze felt good on her hot cheeks and she realized that she was out of breath before she knew it, panting for air heavily, hands on her knees. She hadn't realized she had been running- not at all. All at once, a sudden thought made her back away slowly. There was someone behind her, she knew it. She could feel eyes upon her. She spun around and flipped her gun out, aiming into the darkness and shooting in a frenzy.

Only when her magazine lay spent at her feet did she stop, panting heavily, sweat dripping down her face in heavy droplets. She scanned the area, her shock giving way to incredulity. It wasn't possible. She had felt someone behind her- But there was no one in the alley with her at all.

She shivered and decided that she had just gotten paranoid of late- She let out a nervous peal of laughter and reprimanded herself for losing control like that. She just hoped no one would be alarmed by the gun shots.

_What's wrong with me? It was probably a little kitten or something._She glanced at her wrist watch and was shocked by the time. Sven would kill her for staying out so late. She had to get home immediately- there was just one problem with that plan though.

"I can't believe I got lost," she scowled, kicking at a pebble nearby. It was so completely stupid but it was true nonetheless.

She was completely at sea, lost in the maze of alleys and she warily checked the dark streets out, ready for action, waiting for the slightest movement which confirmed her suspicions that she was on hostile territory- no woman's land at that, Eve mentally noted when she observed that she hadn't seen any woman up and about here at all. She just couldn't decide whether that was a cause for alarm or not. Should she take to the skies?

_No, I'd rather not risk it. Sven hates it when I give us away to the criminals._Her mind made up, she cautiously made her way back towards the apartment she shared with Sven, retracing her steps- losing her way now and then but always managing to get back on track in the end.

By the time she was home, the sun was about to set behind her. She entered slowly, feeling lethargic and tired- barely remembering the reason for her sudden departure earlier that day; Jealousy. She flopped down on her bed and was fast asleep within minutes.

Little did she know that a pair of eyes had followed her all the time she had been outside.

* * *

'_To kill or not to kill, that is the question.'_ Train Heartnet wandered the streets aimlessly, his golden orbs fixed on the ground as he pondered about the choice he had to make.

Why couldn't it have been easier? Why had Creed killed her- extinguishing the only flame of redemption in Train's life, leaving him alone in the dark once again for eternity? He had been helping Sven and Eve with their sweeper thing but if truth be told, it wasn't really his style.

The only reason he had even done it was for her- in an attempt to keep her memory alive. He didn't even have anything of hers to remember her by except for the stupid bell around his neck of course. He still remembered the night she had won that stupid black cat at the Carnival. According to the children she had been there with, she had won it and given it to them afterwards.

Damn it, he didn't even have a picture of her.

Not that he needed it, he would always remember her; the way she laughed, her gentle words resonated deep within the conclaves of his soul. He wasn't afraid he'd forget her essence, just that he'd forget a few details and without them, she would no longer be his Saya but a strange woman whom he had shared a slight past with. And he would do anything to keep that from happening.

But it was just that, of late, her face was getting harder to summon up when he was falling asleep; her voice seemed more and more obscure each time he tried to recall it. He was afraid he was losing her to the shadows. Even now, all he could come up with was a blurry hand reaching out towards him, swathed in bright blinding white light.

Train had once heard that keeping a dead person in your memory alleviated their pain in the afterlife and helped keep a steady connection with them throughout the way- piercing the veil which separated the two dimensions.

It was hard to imagine her saying anything other than what she had said and only faint recollections of the words she had said so merrily remained n his heart. What was happening to him? Was he losing her to the dark abyss of death?

"We'll just see if that witch was telling me the truth." He muttered to himself, ignoring the stares he received from the few passersby as he strolled alongside the pavement alone- brooding heavily.

A brief flashback of him holding the gun to her head brought a slight smile to his face.

* * *

'_No, please! Spare me! I have children, I've told you all I know little one!' Her magnificent turquoise eyes which held so much mystery were wide with fear- fearing him as he pointed the gun at her, threatening to end her existence. He had done nothing but suggested casually that if she were to fail at providing cooperation, he would reveal her to the world as the last Taoist left on the face of the Earth._

_He was shocked really, he had sent her a forewarning about his imminent arrival._

_She should have been prepared yet she had been confident he would not be able to best her- well, she was among the many people who had to learn that he was not to be taken lightly and the list was ever increasing._

* * *

She had told him the truth- at least, the things she believed to be the truth.

And heaven help her if she hadn't.

'_Well, at least blondie made it back safe,' _he mused; he simply couldn't do without her in the future. He smiled to himself as he remembered the raw fear in her eyes as she had fired bullet after bullet into the dark alleyway. He had to be careful from now on though- that girl was smarter than he had originally thought.

She had sensed him when no other human being could have. And she was going o get her reward for finding him out. He just had to make sure the old man didn't figure anything out till part one of his plan was complete. After all, he had a need for that girl in this phase. And her crazed doting guardian as well- they would make good offerings.

He watched her breathe slowly, her chest lifting and falling gently as she inhaled and exhaled; safe in the comforts of her room and blankets.

_Too bad she won't have that protection for too long._Train gazed at her hungrily. Soon, it would be soon. For now, he had to hunt out the other one and watch them.


	3. Divided Attention

"Chardin! Look! There's a man selling popcorn across the street! Can we buy some?" Chardin turned around to face his young companion and almost smiled in spite of himself and his terrible day. Kyoko Kurasaki smiled at him with wide eyes and was pointing at the aforementioned man selling the desired kernels.

"Okay, but remember, don't over eat because then you'll be sick," he reminded her as he handed over the cash she wanted so badly. "Yes mom!" she winked cheerily and ran off towards the man.

Kids these days- so damned unpredictable.

'_She's hardly a child anymore,'_ his mind reasoned with him before it understood that it wasn't how old she was, it was how immature the girl was. And he didn't mind looking after her at all. After all, before the whole Tao thing, he hadn't had much of a life- roaming the streets in a vain attempt to make enough money to support himself in life- and it helped that he didn't have to pay tax. He had no family to return to either so he was sticking with Kyoko all the way.

Especially now that his parents had asked him to mind her all the time- he was something of a nanny, as she never failed to remind him.

He watched as she stood in line to get her popcorn with his cash- oh well, time to ask for another raise. This girl ransacked his wallet better than any mugger ever could. With a charge like that, who needed inflation?

"So whatcha thinking 'bout?" He heard her familiar voice call out from behind him. He turned around and was annoyed to see only one packet of kernels in her hands. "Kyoko," he warned her, suddenly aware of how many people were in the streets and that the man with the cart was staring after her, as if amused.

And no wonder, she had, after all, stayed in line to ask for Kernels and not popcorn… He must have been wondering what she's p to.

Chardin groaned, having realized her plan to make popcorn herself and groaned, also realizing that his stomach had been anticipating the popcorn. She stared up at him innocently, as if challenging him to contradict her innocence. Okay, so his charge wasn't a normal charge at all- so she could breathe fire but so what?

It wasn't like she was a cold hearted murderer…. Or an assassin.

No, that was her crush…. Train bloody Heartnett.

'_Now's the time to proclaim that you quit, because you're in a loony bin,' _something inside him whispered but he ignored it. Sad as he was to admit it, he was abnormal as well- and the perfect choice to look after the fiery Kyoko- no pun intended.

Speaking of Train, Chardin wondered what the brunet was up to these days. Ever since they had parted ways some time ago- nearly two years now, he had never contacted any of them. It was just as well anyway- Kyoko was getting over him fine. Why, just a few days ago, she had told him that their waiter had been hot. Of course, most men would find it weird and awkward to be stuck in his position but he didn't really mind it.

When it concerned her, he was used to this kind of behavior.

That or if he met a very dunk and rejected woman. Either way, he was doing his best to keep the impulsive girl in check. And failing miserably at that, to tell the truth.

"Kyoko, just don't do anything in public," he begged her, hoping the man wouldn't be curious enough to follow them. She scowled, wagging a finger up at him balefully. "I'm aware we're in public Char, but we're super heroes! We can do anything we want! These people should be giving us stuff for free, considering we save them!" Her eyes were bright and excited as she imagined the prospect of being adored by the world.

Chardin tried his best to remain calm, and was about to tell her in gentlest way why they couldn't tell the world they were different when someone beat him to it.

"Now, you wouldn't want the world to know you nearly killed half of it, do you? Do you think they'll take kindly to you after that little detail? No, they'll hate you for being different babe, so listen to Chardin when he tells you to keep away from being too public," the shadow spoke quietly, his arrogance showing through even then. Chardin's eyes widened; speak of the assassin-

"Master Black!" Kyoko screeched, throwing herself onto him like a heat seeking rocket. "I missed you, why didn't you ever call? Where were you all this time? Have you got a girl friend yet?" She simpered to him and Chardin had to look away- this wasn't part of the deal. There was no way he could keep her away from Heartnett.

The brunet grinned at her slowly, raising an eyebrow at Chardin as he answered her volley of questions slowly. Sheesh, that girl would be better off hosting a Twenty Questions game show.

Finally, after about ten minutes, Train stared at him with brilliant gold eyes, a small grin making its way across his face. "Long time no see guys!"

"Evidently, it hasn't been long enough," Chardin motioned to the young girl clinging to Train's arm. Train blinked at him and looked down at her before he waved a hand non-chalantly. "Oh, she's gotten over me a little. I mean, she hasn't tried to kiss me yet," he said matter-of-factly. Chardin nearly snorted with amusement.

The Cat was finally back- armed with wisecracks and jokes- maybe he'd be able to help him heel Kyoko in.

Suddenly, Chardin realized that an awkward silence had settled over them- what was Train doing here anyway? There was no hiding the fact that they weren't exactly the best of chums- especially if Kyoko was there. And he was _letting _her coo over him.

Something was seriously amiss here.

He smiled politely at the brunet and gripped Kyoko's hand. "I'm sorry Train but we must get going. It was great meeting you. Send my regards to Sven and the girl if you're here with them," he smiled once again before dragging Kyoko away with him. If he'd only turned around once, he would have noticed the golden eyes following their every move as Kyoko thrashed around, trying to get back to Train.

"Be afraid Chardin, be very afraid. You worst nightmares are coming true," he grinned, anticipating the moment he'd finally get to stop pretending to be on their side. It wouldn't take long to subdue her, not long at all- she still carried a flaming torch for him; that much was obvious. And he whistled merrily as he made his way back to the apartment.

Things were shaping up just fine. Now to go back and check up on Eve- he hoped the blondie wasn't going to be too much of a nuisance today. She was too suspicious for her own good and it would cost her dearly- he'd make sure of that.

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**Okay, so I've been slacking off a little- okay, a lot, but I've been really busy lately so I'm sorry for this being so late Amy. ^^' And the chapter is so boring too…. I've officially run out of ideas. **

**Must plot more carefully now.**


End file.
